ATLANTA (May 9, 2026) – The LA Galaxy (4‑4‑4, 16 points) came from behind to win 2-1 against Eastern Conference side Atlanta United FC (3-8-1, 10 points) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. After falling behind 1–0 in the second half, the Galaxy rallied to victory behind a late-on brace from Brazilian winger Gabriel Pec.
ATL – Jay Fortune, 69th minute: Fortune cut in from the left wing and curled a shot from the top of the box into the bottom-right corner to put Atlanta ahead, 1–0.
LA – Gabriel Pec (Marco Reus), 74th minute: Erik Thommy swung an outlet pass to Reus, who slipped a through ball to Pec. Pec dribbled past the final defender and beat the Atlanta keeper with a low shot into the bottom-left corner to level the match for the Galaxy.
LA – Gabriel Pec, 79th minute: Reus was played in behind the Atlanta back line, and the German international cut a cross into the box from the right wing to find Gabriel Pec who saw his initial shot saved, but finished the rebound to complete the Galaxy’s comeback.
- Tonight’s win was the LA Galaxy’s third consecutive victory over Atlanta United FC in the head-to-head series overall. Notably, it was also the Galaxy’s first win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in three tries since its opening in 2017. In addition, Gabriel Pec recorded the Galaxy’s first two goals inside the venue with his second-half brace tonight.
- The Galaxy extended their scoring streak to 21 consecutive matches with Gabriel Pec‘s first of two second half goals, continuing the longest active scoring streak in MLS.
- Defender Jakob Glesnes started the match with the captain’s armband tonight for the first time in MLS Regular Season play as a member of the Galaxy.
- With his two goals tonight, winger Gabriel Pec became the third player for the LA Galaxy to score a brace in MLS action this season, after João Klauss against Charlotte FC and Marco Reus against Real Salt Lake. This is the third game this season across all competitions in which Pec has scored two goals or more. Pec has now contributed to a club-leading 13 goals across all competitions in 2026 (nine goals, four assists).
- Defender Julián Aude (ankle), forward João Klauss (foot), and forward Matheus Nascimento (thigh) were unavailable for selection in tonight’s match due to injury.
The LA Galaxy continue their 10-day road trip with a midweek contest against Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park on Wednesday, May 13 (5:30 p.m. PT, Apple TV). Then, the Galaxy wrap up the road swing three days later with a visit to Seattle to take on Sounders FC at Lumen Field on Saturday, May 16 (6 p.m. PT, Apple TV).
Match: LA Galaxy vs Atlanta United FC
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Atlanta, Georgia
Weather: Cloudy and 74°F
ATL: Jay Fortune, 69’
LA: Gabriel Pec (Marco Reus, Joseph Paintsil), 74’
LA Galaxy: GK JT Marcinkowski; D John Nelson, D Emiro Garcés, D Jakob Glesnes, D Mauricio Cuevas; M Edwin Cerrillo, M Justin Haak (Marco Reus, 65’), M Lucas Sanabria (Elijah Wynder, 73’); F Harbor Miller (Erik Thommy, 73’), F Gabriel Pec, F Joseph Paintsil (Maya Yoshida, 90+1’)
Substitutes not used: Novak Mićović, Miki Yamane, Isaiah Parente, Troy Elgersma, Ruben Ramos Jr.
Atlanta United FC: GK Lucas Hoyos; D Elias Baez, D Stian Gregersen, D Juan Berrocal (Enea Mihaj, 84’), D Tomas Jacob; M Tristan Muyumba, M Cooper Sanchez (Sergio Santos, 83’), M Alexey Miranchukl, M Matias Galarza (Jay Fortune, 60’); F Latte Lath (Cayman Togashi, 71’), F Saba Lobjanidze (Luke Brennan, 71’)
Substitutes not used: Jayden Hibbert, Matthew Edwards, Pedro Amador, Will Reilly
ATL: Stian Gregersen (caution) 26’
ATL: Cooper Sanchez (caution, dismissal) 28’
ATL: Juan Berrocal (caution, dismissal) 30’
ATL: Atlanta United FC bench (caution) 44’
ATL: Atlanta United FC bench (caution) 45+1’
LA: LA Galaxy bench (caution) 45+3’
LA: Jakob Glesnes (caution) 53’
Assistant Referees: Jeffrey Swartzel, Nick Balcer
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA Galaxy Postgame Top Quotes
LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney
On what changed in the game to get the team three points on the road:
“We knew at some points in the game, and with 30 minutes left, we wanted to get Marco [Reus] out. Get a little more attacking minded and fresh legs. The group had a strong mentality and kept with it, they kept doing the work. They kept defending and finding the opportunities in transition. There are some good things to take away but the mentality over this last stretch of games has been outstanding. I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it.”
On Gabriel Pec’s brace and his training efforts:
“It was not a product of training differently; in fact, he’s been out, recovering from the last match and we’ve been trying to manage him through the week and last couple of days. Like you’ve heard me say before, we want to find Gabe on the move and ideally moving toward the goal and he was more clinical through the finishes. Getting Gabe running behind the back line and getting him at speed. He did a great job of taking those two and hopefully that builds some confidence for him and today he took both of his [shots] with confidence.”
On if he was worried about the physicality of the match going into it:
“The game was fast and inside the midfield with the two natural pivots; we were having a hard time finding enough players ahead of the ball and when we did, we didn’t have the numbers to really attack and make something of those situations. Our shift was always going to be about attacking further down the stretch and it was a matter of getting us there. I thought a lot of things worked. The game was fast and physical and when we recovered the ball we needed to make good decisions and move forward. The guys came onto the field and executed exactly how they were supposed to execute.”
On his decision to sub in more defenders toward the end of the match:
“They came on with two forwards. Joe had run his last sprint. We were starting to lose numbers and we knew they had two strikers on the field. I went back and really assessed the last game and I know we went to five. It’s a foul we shouldn’t commit. I didn’t feel like it was an issue of the structure I thought it was the plays we need to be better at. It worked out. Sometimes it will and many times it doesn’t but if the decision is the right decision, you have to believe in it.”
LA Galaxy Defender Jakob Glesnes
On what tonight’s win says about the team’s mentality:
“It’s huge, like you said, the mentality in the group now. It’s like we can beat anyone, no matter where we are. And that was the mindset that we had going into the game today as well. Again, it wasn’t the cleanest game, but again, we knew as long as we can defend well, especially away, that we’re going to have opportunities going forward as well, because we have some quick, good guys in the front that can do special things. And the mentality that we showed after going down 1-0 today, and to come back and now, in the end, win 2-1, it’s huge. So, I think the game plan today was really good. You saw the changes that we did. That was huge. We got in fresh guys that have seen the game from the outside and came in and knew exactly where it was going to be.”
On wearing the captain’s armband and being back from the injury:
“First of all, I’m proud to do that. It’s an honor. It’s fun to go in the front for everyone, but we have so many guys that are able to do the job here. With me, and in the locker room, there are so many leaders, so it’s an easy job. I would say, it’s easy to say now after we’ve been winning away. But, yeah, no, I have been feeling great. I had to manage the first game with just 45 minutes. In my head, I wanted to play 90, but also, I understand it from the doctor’s side that we had to start slowly, but then 90 against Vancouver, and also today, it feels good, and also even better when we are taking 3 points away. I’m going to have a good night of sleep tonight.”
On the team chemistry and the cohesiveness being created within the team:
“Yeah, I feel like that has been one of our strengths now, the last couple of games. I would say it’s not just the back line, I would say it’s more the whole team. It’s from the front and all the way back to JT in goal, and when we are defending as one unit, we are so hard to play against, and then we know also that we have the quality up top, where some magic can happen. So, if we are doing our job as a unit, then we know we are getting chances in every game. Today, we took it with both our arms, and here we are with 3 points. That is huge, and that is building something also, some confidence that we are taking with us on Wednesday, because we know it’s going to be a tough week. But I would say, now, over the last three games, we have built some momentum, and some confidence.”